Pumping unit



Dec. 4, 1934. D, L; CALDWELL 1,982,634

PUMPING UNIT Filed July 24, 1933 Mam/Toe.- .QQMS L. GHLDNELL) fiTToeMs Patented Dec. 4, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I 11 Claims.

My invention relates to a self-contained pumping unit especially adapted for the pumping of oil from oil wells. My invention comprehends a pumping device which may be readily mounted on the floor of a derrick and which may be connected to the polish rod of a pumping string so that it willthereafter operate in an economical and efiicient manner to reciprocate the pumping string. It is an especial feature of my invention to provide a simple pumping unit having a traveling member adapted for attachment. to the polish rod, this traveling member being reciprocated on a vertical line so as to exert a straight lift on the polish rod whereby to eliminate eccenl5 trio wear on the polish rod. s

A further object or the invention is to provide in a pumping unit a simple means whereby the transmission of power from a driven crank shaft will be accomplished through a direct pull on the 20 crank element of the crank shaft, in this manner avoiding the eccentric transmission or application of forces as is now found in the use of pumping jacks employing swinging members, such as walking beams, with connecting rods connecting such swinging members to power driven cranks. i

It is a further object of the invention to provide a pumping unit having supporting parts for the sheaves which may be readily moved to a retracted position when it is desired to pull the pump or pump plunger.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a pumping unit so constructed that a downward thrust will be. exerted against the power element thereof at least equal to or greater than 35 the pumping load, this feature contributing to the production of the device, which may be secured in operating position with a minimum number of bolts or screws.

A further and important object of my invention is to provide a device of the above character in which the pumping forces are applied directly from the crank means of the power unit to the polish rod, thereby avoiding the use of intermediate levers and connecting rods, such as at present employed and in which. uneconomical transmission of power is produced through the angular positions of the connecting rods and walking beam parts. 1

Further objects and advantages of the inven Fig. 2 is a cross section on a plane represented by the line 22 of Fig. 1.

In the drawing I show a derrick floor 11 which, if properly constructed, may serve as a supporting element for the pumping unit 12 which has a power unit 13 consisting of a reduction gear unit 14 mounted on a base 15; which base may be of hollow metal construction and has an extending shelf or plate portion '16 on which a power source, such, as an electric motor 1'2, maybe secured in position to drive a chain or belt 18 which runs over a pulley or sprocket 20 on the power input shaft 21 of the reduction gear unit 14. Rotating at suitably slow speed, the reduction gear unit 14 has a horizontal power output or crankshaft 22 having crank members 23 on the ends thereof. Each of these crank members 23 includes ametal body 24 extending radially with respect to the shaft 22 and crank pins 25. adapted to be selectively securedin openings 26 in the bodies 24' whereby to produce crank members having crank pins which may be adjusted to move through selected circles of rotation. The power unit 13 is provided with flanges 27 for resting upon the supporting element consisting of the derrick floor 11, these flanges having openings thereinthrough which bolt members 28 may be passed for thepurpose ofsecuring the power unit 13 to the floor 11 to one side of a well head 30 projecting upwardly through an opening 31 in the floor 11.

The well head 30 is shown. with projecting pump tubing 32 having a packing device 33 at the upper end thereof from which a polish rod 34 of a string of sucker rods projects. For engagement of the polish rod 34, my invention provides a vertically traveling member 35 comprised essentially of a horizontally disposed beam 36 equipped with a polish rod clamp or connecting means 37. The traveling beam 36 may be readily constructed from structural steel sections welded together as shown. In the present form of the beam 36 an angle member 38 is employed having vertical openings 40 near the ends thereof through which hollow screw members 41 are extended, there being adjustment nuts 42 on the screw members 41 for preventing removal of suchscrew members 41 from the openings 40 and for adjusting the screw members 41 vertically relative to the beam 36. t

In a plane above the extreme upward position of the beam 36, a shaft 43 is supported in a position parallelto the crank shaft 22, this shaft being in a vertical plane which is parallel'to the crank shaft 22 and is disposed between the crank shaft 22 and the polish rod 34. The Vertical plane is ends 4'7 of the cables 46, opposite to the vertically hanging ends 45 thereof, extend diagonally down: wardly from the sheaves 44 and have loops 50 at the lower ends thereof which pass around grooved ferrule or bushing members 51 which are rotatably mounted on the crank pins 25.

The loops 50 are held by use of cable clamps 52 of common form.

For the purpose of supporting the shaft 43 and the sheaves 44 in the operative position described, I employ primary and secondary leg members 54 and 55 which are disposed in downwardly diverging planes. The leg member 54 comprises a pair of struts 56 which may be made of tubular metal sections or pipes, these struts 56 being secured together by cross bracing members 57 and having their upper ends disposed at such distances apart that they will engage the shaft 43 at points within and adjacent the sheaves 44. The lower ends of the members 56 engage the power unit 13, preferably at a point above the shaft 22, and for this purpose I provide metal walls 58 formed on the upper wall of the reduction gear unit 14 forming pockets in which the lower ends of the members 56 rest. To prevent accidental removal of the lower ends of the members 56 from the pocket members 58, transverse bolts 60 are provided, which bolts do not, however, serve to transmit force from the members 56 to the gear unit 14. The bolts 60 extend through slots 61 in the pocket members 58 so as to be movable laterally as the members 56 are swung upwardly and rearwardly from the sloping position in which they are shown to a retracted position,

The leg member 55 comprises a pair of struts 63, the upper ends of which are secured by clamps 64 or other means of attachment to the extremities of the shaft 43 extending beyond the outer end faces of the sheaves 44. The members 63 diverge or are spread apart at their lower ends, and the lower extremities 65 thereof rest in pockets 66 formed by metal walls 6'7 which are secured to a metal angle 68 held upon the floor 11 by means of bolts 70. The lower ends of the struts'63 may be held in the pockets 66 by use of transverse bolts 71. Since the power unit 13 and the member 68 are both bolted tothe floor 11, the floor 11 serves as a chord acting in tensioh to prevent a spreading movement of the lower ends of the leg members 54 and 55 due to the downward thrust applied to the upper ends of the members 54 and 55 during the operation of the pumping device tolift the polish rod and the working load of oil which is at this time being moved upwardly by the pump piston connected to the lower end of the working or pumping string of which the polish rod 34 forms a part. Due to the inverted-V-arrangement of the leg members 54 and 55, an inherent rigidity of the plunping'unit is produced in a plane perpendicular to theaxes of .the shafts 22a'nd 43. For the purpose of producing essential rigidityin a plane parallel to these shafts, the struts 63 of the leg member 55 are materially diverged in'downward direction so as to make a widely spaced engagement through the member 68 with the floor 11. The member 63 may be suitably cross braced by use of rods '75.

It is an additional object of the invention to provide a well pumping unit which will not weave or oscillate during its operation due to an unbalanced transmission of forces through the parts thereof, and to contribute to this effect I provide a pair of crank members 23 which are rotated in unison in parallel vertical planes lying on opposite sides of an intermediate plane passing through the polish rod 34. The pulling forces transmitted to the traveling member 35 secured to the polish rod 34 are equally divided between the flexible members 46, and accordingly the production of eccentric unbalanced strains in the structure of the pumping unit 12 are practically eliminated. The upward pull of the vertically hanging ends 45 of the flexible members 46 is vertically aligned with the polish rod 34 at all times, and the application of force through the rearward portions 47 of the flexible members 46 is always a direct pull on the line through the centers of the crank pins 25. The radial bodies of metal 24 constitute counterbalances operating in opposition to the load transmitted through the sucker rod 34 to the pumping unit, and the counterbalancing effect may be changed by the use of detachable metal weights '76 in accordance with standard counterbalancing practice. To accommodate for any unequal stretch in the cables 46, adjustment means are provided through the use of the screws 41 and the nuts 42, it being possible to change the effective length of either cable 46 by rotating its associated nut on the screw 41 to which it is attached. When it is desired to pull the working string and the pump plunger, or to pull the pump from the well, the bolts 71 may be removed so that the lower ends 65 of the struts 63 may be lifted from the pockets 66. The leg member 54 may be rotated upwardly and leftwardly or rearwardly so as to carry the sheaves 44 into a position over the motor 1'7, at which time the leg member 55 will lie upon the ends of the reduction gear unit 14, so that at this time there will be no parts of the pumping device in a position tointerfere with the operation of pulling the string of sucker rods or the pump tube from the well.

Although I have herein shown and described my invention in simple and practical form, it is recognized that certain parts or elements thereof are representative of other parts, elements, or mechanisms which may be employed in substantially the same manner to accomplish substantially the same results; therefore, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but isto be accorded the full scope of the following claims.

I claim as my invention:

, 1. A pumping unit ofv the character described, adapted for mounting on the supporting structure of a well rig, including: a power unit carried by said supporting structure, said power unit having a horizontal crank shaft; cranks on the ends of said crank shaft; an idler shaft disposed in a planeabove and to the side of said crank shaft and being substantially parallel thereto; sheaves on said idler shaft operatively aligned with said cranks; a cable running over each of said sheaves, each of said cables having one end thereof attached to one of said cranks and the other end thereof hanging vertically from its sheave; a traveling cross beam secured to said hanging ends of said cables; means intermediate the ends of said cross beam for connecting the same to a working string operativewithina well; and means for supporting said idler-shaft in operative position, said supporting means comprising a primary leg member having one end thereof secured to said power unit at a point above said crank shaft and sloping upwardly therefrominto supporting engagement with said idler shaft at points between said sheaves on said idler shaft, and a secondary leg member connected to the end por tions of said idler shaft outside said sheaves and sloping downwardly fromsaid idler shaft through a plane crossing the plane of said primary" leg member into engagement with said supporting structure.

2'. A pumping unit of the character described, adapted for mountingon the supporting structure of a well rig,including: a power unitcarried by said supporting structure, said power unit having a horizontal crank shaft; cranks on the ends of said crank shaft; an idler shaft disposed in a plane above and to the side of said crank shaft and being substantially parallel thereto; sheaves on said idler shaft operatively aligned with said cranks; a cable running' over each of said sheaves, each of said cables having one end thereof attached to one of said cranks and the other end thereof hanging vertically from its sheave; a traveling cross beam secured to said hanging ends of said cables; means intermediate the ends of said cross beam for connecting the same to a working string operative within a well; and means for supporting saididler shaft in operative position, said supporting means comprising a primary leg member having one end thereof secured to said power unit at a point above said crank shaft and sloping upwardly therefrom into engagement withsaid idler shaft, and a secondary leg member sloping downwardly from said idler shaft through a plane crossing the plane of said primary member into engagement with said supporting structure, said cross beam operating in the space between said leg members.

3. A pumping unit of the character described, adapted for mounting on the supporting structure of a well rig, including: a power unit carried by said supporting structure, said power unit having a horizontal crank shaft; cranks on the ends of said crank shaft; an idler shaft disposed in a plane above and to the side of said crank shaft and being substantially parallel thereto; sheaves on said idler shaft operatively aligned with said cranks; a cable running: over each of said sheaves, each of said cables having: one end thereof attached to one of said cranks and the other end thereof hanging vertically from its sheave; a traveling cross beam. secured, to said hanging ends of said cables; means intermediate the ends of said'cross beam for connecting the same to a working string operative within a well; and means for supporting said idler shaft in operative position, said supporting means comprising a primary leg member extending upwardly and outwardly relative to said power unit and having one end thereof secured to said idler shaft and the other end thereof secured to said power unit, and a secondary leg member extending downwardly and outwardly relative to said power unit from said idler shaft into engagement with said supporting structure, said cross beam operating in the space between said leg members.

4. A pumping unit of the character described, adapted for mounting on the supporting structure of a well rig, including: a power unit carri'ed by said supporting structure, said power unit having a horizontal crank shaft; cranks on the ends of said crank shaft; anidler shaft disposed in aplane above said crank shaft and substantially parallel thereto; sheaves on said idler shaft operatively aligned with said cranks; a cable running over each of said sheaves, each of said cables having one end thereof attached to one of said cranks, and the other end thereof hanging vertically from its sheave; a traveling cross beam secured to said, hanging ends of said cables; means intermediate the ends of said cross beam for connecting the same to a working string operative within a well; and means for supporting said idler shaft in operative position, said supnorting means comprising a leg member sloping upwardly and outwardly relative to said power unit and having one end thereof secured to said. idler shaft and the other end thereof hinged-1y secured to said power unit.

5'. A'pumping unit of the character described, adapted for mounting on the supporting structure of'a well rig, including: a power unit carried bysaid' supporting structure, said powerunit having a horizontal crank shaft; cranks on the ends of said crank shaft; an idler shaft disposed in a plane above said crank shaft. and substantially parallel; thereto; sheaves on said idler shaft op eratively aligned with said cranks;- a cable running over each of said sheaves, each of said cables having one end thereof" attached toone of said cranks and the other end thereof hanging vertically from its sheave; a traveling cross beam secured to said hanging ends of said cables; means intermediate the ends of said cross beam for connecting the same to a working string operative within a well; and meansfor supporting said, idler shaft in operative position, comprising a. leg, member hinged to said powerunit so as to swing from an upwardly and outwardly sloping position toward said power unit to a retracted, position in which said sheaves and said cross beam will be disposed to one side of their nonmal operating position.

6. A pumping unit of the character described, adapted for mounting on the supporting structure of a well rig,,including: a power unit carried by said supporting structurasaid power unit having a. horizontal crank shaft; cranks on the ends of said crank shaft; an, idler shaft. disposed in a plane above and, to the side of said crank shaft andbei'ng substantially parallel thereto; sheaves on, said idler shaft operatively aligned with said cranks; a cable running over each of said sheaves, each of said cables having one end thereof attached to one of. said cranks and. the other end thereof hanging vertically from its sheave;

' means for securing said last named ends of said cables to a working string of the well rig; and means for supporting, said idler shaft in operative. position,, said supporting means comprising aprimary leg. member having one end thereof secured to said power unit at a point above said crank shaft and sloping upwardly therefrom into supporting engagement with said idler shaft at points between said sheaves on said idler shaft, and a secondary leg member connected to the end portions of said idler shaft outside said sheaves and sloping downwardly from said idler shaft through a plane crossing the plane of said primary leg member into engagement with said supporting structure, said primary leg member being hinged to said power unit and said secondary leg member being hinged to the upper end of said primaryleg member so that said supporting means and said sheaves may be swung toward said power unitinto retracted position.

'7. A pumping unit of the character described, adapted for mounting on the supporting structure of a well rig, including: a power unit carried by said supporting structure, said power unit having a horizontal crank shaft; cranks onthe ends of said crank shaft; an idler shaft disposed in afplane above and to the side of said crank shaft and being substantially parallel. thereto; sheaves on said idler shaftoperatively aligned with said cranks; a cable running over each of said sheaves, each of said cables having one end thereof attached to one of said cranks and the other end thereof hanging vertically from its sheave; means for securing said last named ends of said cables to a working string of the well rig; and means for supporting saididler shaft in operative position, said supporting means comprising a primary leg member having one end thereof secured to said power unit at a point above said crank shaft and sloping upwardly therefrom into engagement with said idler shaft, and a secondary leg member sloping downwardly from said idler shaft through a plane crossing the plane of said primary member into engage ment with said supporting structure, said primary leg member being hinged to said power unit and said secondary leg member being hinged to the upper end of said primary leg member so that said supporting means and said sheaves may be swung toward said power unit into retracted potion.

8. A pumping unit of the character described, adapted for mounting onlthe supporting structure of a well rig, including: a power unit carried by said supporting structure, saidpower unit having a horizontal crank shaft; cranks on the ends of said crank shaft; an idler shaft dis posed in a plane above and to the side of said crank shaft and being substantially parallel thereto; sheaves on said idler shaft operatively aligned with said cranks; a cable running over each of said sheaves, each of said cables having one end thereof attached to one of said cranks and the other end thereof hanging vertically from'its sheave; means for securing said last named ends of said cables to a working string of the well rig; and means for supporting said idler shaft in operative position, said supporting means comprising a primary leg member having one end thereof secured to said idler shaft and the other end thereof secured to said power unit, and a secondary leg member extending from said idler shaft into engagement with said supporting structure, said leg members defining an inverted V and said means for securing said .last named ends of said cables disposed in the space between said leg members.

9. A pumping unit of the character described, including: a laterally extending, vertically traveling member having means intermediate the ends thereof for connecting it to a working string;

a pair of sheave members; means for supporting said sheave members above the end portions of said traveling member; a pair of flexible members having their forward ends connected to the ends of said traveling member and extending upwardly therefrom over said sheave members; a crank 'operatively aligned with each of said sheave members; means for securing the rearward ends ofsaid flexible members to said cranks; means for driving said cranks in unison; and means operative between the outer ends of said flexible members and said traveling member for adjusting the respective lengths of said flexible members so as to maintain said traveling member level.

' 10. A pumping unit of the character described, adapted for mounting on the supporting structure of a well rig, including: a power unit carried by said supporting structure, said power unit having a horizontal crank shaft; crank means on said crank shaft; an idler shaft disposed in a plane above said crank shaft and substantially parallel thereto; sheave means on said idler shaft operatively aligned with said crank means; flexible means running over said sheave means having one end thereof attached to said crank means and the other end thereof hanging vertically from its sheavemeans; traveling means for securing said last named end'of said flexible means to a working string; and means for supporting said idler shaft in operative position, said supporting means comprising a leg member extending upwardly and outwardly from said power unit and having one end thereof secured to said idler shaft and the other end thereof hingedly secured to said power unit.

11. A pumping unit of the character described, adapted for mounting on the supporting structure of a well rig, including: a power unit carried by said supporting structure, said power unit having a horizontal crankshaft; crank means on said crank shaft; an idler shaft disposed in a plane above said crank shaft and substantially parallel thereto; sheave means on said idler shaft operatively aligned with said crank means; flexible means running over said sheave means having one end thereof attached to said crank means and the other end thereof hanging vertically from its sheave means; traveling means for securing said last named end of said flexible means to a working string; and means for supporting said idler shaft in operative position, said supporting means comprising a leg member extending upwardly and outwardly from said power unit and having one end thereof secured to said idler shaft and the other end thereof hingedly secured to said power unit, and ,a secondary leg member extending downwardly and outwardly from said idler shaft, said traveling means operating in the space between said leg members.

DAVE L. CALDWELL. 

